I tried 5 brands of store-bought chicken nuggets, and 2 of them will become staples in my freezer

Carolina GazalMay 31, 2023, 02:22 IST

The taste test included nuggets from Kirkwood, Trader Joe's, Great Value, Perdue, and Tyson.Carolina Gazal

I sampled chicken nuggets from five brands: Kirkwood, Trader Joe's, Great Value, Perdue, and Tyson.
To keep the taste test consistent, I prepared them all in the microwave and ate them plain.

Chicken nuggets have been a longtime staple in my household. Not only are they cheap and easy to prepare in a short amount of time, but also they taste delicious and go with just about anything.

But no two nuggets are the same, so I tested five brands — Kirkwood, Trader Joe's, Great Value, Perdue, and Tyson — to find the best one.

Each bag was a different size but cost less than $8. To keep the taste test fair, I prepared all 25 of the nuggets in the microwave, following the instructions on each respective bag, and stayed away from dipping sauces.

Here's how the five brands compared.

Trader Joe's organic chicken nuggets looked lighter in color than I expected.

I had an easy time finding these nuggets in the refrigerated section.Carolina Gazal

The nuggets were soft and full of flavor, but the color threw me off.

The flavors in the breading came through in each bite.Carolina Gazal

Great Value's nuggets looked the best even before I cooked them.

When I took the Great Value nuggets out of the bag, they looked the most appealing of all five batches.Carolina Gazal

The breading was fantastic, but the inside of the nuggets didn't carry the same flavor.

The Great Value nuggets were plain on the inside.Carolina Gazal

After stopping at several Aldi locations that didn't have the Kirkwood nuggets in stock, I finally found them.

The Kirkwood nuggets came in a massive red bag.Carolina Gazal

These nuggets had the best breading, but the meat inside tasted dry.

The breading was better than the inside of the nuggets.Carolina Gazal

The Tyson nuggets were the largest in size and looked crispier than the others.

The Tyson nuggets were pretty large compared to some of the ones from other brands.Carolina Gazal

The breading had a deliciously sweet flavor, but I was let down by the meat's spongy texture.

The nuggets' breading was sweet, but the inside tasted bland.Carolina Gazal

Perdue's nuggets were shaped like small squares and made of white-meat chicken.

The Perdue nuggets were the priciest ones in the taste test.Carolina Gazal

The nuggets were juicier than I expected, and the breading tasted wonderful too.

The chicken bites had a lot of texture and an excellent flavor.Carolina Gazal

The Perdue nuggets were my favorite, but it was a close race, with Kirkwood's chicken bites coming in second.

The other nuggets weren't bad, but the Perdue ones had exceptional flavor and breading.Carolina Gazal

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